Bullying, victimization, and physical self-efficacy among adolescent martial arts students and non-martial arts students

Violence in schools has recently captured widespread attention both in the media and in psychological research. This dissertation project tested for differences in physical self efficacy, bullying behaviors and victimization among children who had taken self-defense classes and those who had not. Results indicated that martial arts training did not affect rates of bullying or victimization, but it was associated with children reporting better perceptions of their physical abilities than students who had not participated in martial arts classes. Gender differences were detected on all three dependent variables. Boys reported engaging in more physical bullying, while girls reported being socially manipulated more than boys. Girls had lower levels of physical self-efficacy, both in perceptions of physical abilities and in their confidence of self-presentation, than did boys. Implications, limitations, and conclusions are discussed.